Anchor device



June 26. 1945. J M GRmDE 'ET AL 2,379,349

ANCHOR DEVICE Filed A ril 17, 1941 Patented June 26, 1945 STATES PATENT 7 John- M. Grinde and- Arthur E. Manthey, Waunakee, Wis;

Application; April 17, 194i,.seria11No.fsss,992

4 Cl'aims.

This invention relates to improvements. in an? cho r devices.

Itis the primary object of, the invention tUDIO! vide a novel and improved anchor device which is. of simplified construction and less expensive to. manufacture and more effective in use than devices previously available.

More specifically, the olbiec-ts of the invention include the. provision of a device which can. be usedin hardwood or soft, and evenin. plastics,. to anchor a tenon in a mortise-or a turniture in a suitableebore, orother likeparts; withoutcdanger of splitting: the provision: ofan anchor device which can be? readily and inexpensively stampedfrom sheet: metal. and" which is provided in its construction with prongs capable of penetrating the hardest wood or knots without splitting; the provision of ananchor which is preferably formed with but a sing-lg bend, therebyreducing manufacturing cost and also enabhng the anchor to function more rel-ia-bly'and' with less pressure than otherwise would be required; the provision of an anchor in which the connection between the anchor and the part to be held thereby is preferably' made by a drive screw as distinguished from any other form of connection whereby the connection is tightened in the same operation which sets the. anchor; and" the provision of. an anchor which, when in use, will be automatically locked against unscrewingofits retaining drive screw-or other fastening means.

A further object is generally to; simplify and improve the. construction, arrangement and operation for one or more of thepurposes mentioned, and still other objects will' be apparent from the specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view partially in elevation but. primarily in section through the furniture anchor and the partsto be joined thereby, the anchor being. illustrated inposition for use.

Fig. 2 is a view similar toFiga 1- showingthe anchor and associated parts after pressure has been applied to expand the anchor into its fixed position.

Fig. 3 is a view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1-.

Fig. 4 is a detail end elevation of the sheet metal portion or the anchor:

Fig. 5 is a view showing a modified embodiment of the invention in side'elevation.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail of a preferred sheet metal part used in the anchor.-

Fig. 7 is a view in perspective showing a. 'further modified embodiment of the invention useful where mortise; and tenon. connection is desired.

Like parts: are identified by the same-. reference characters throughout thegseveral views.

The woo-cl. may comprise. a. furniture: piece hand a furniture run-g 9: as shown in- Figs. 1,2. and 3. A hole H1 is bored in the furniture piece. 8 tore.- ceive. the rung, and the end of the rung ispreferably beveled at H in the usual way. This joint isnot intended to replace the use of. glue although' it will hold fast without glue where necessary. It greatly strengthens a glued; joint-and eliminates any necessity of using: clamps to hold theparts engaged while the glue sets.

The furniture rung 9 is preferably provided with a drilled pilot bore M into which the drive screw l5 ishammeredor-pressed; Thedrive-screw passes through the sheet metal part [6 of. the

anchor which has en aperture [1. sufficiently large to. receive the drive screw and is of a U.- shaped or- V-shaped form inside elevation. havinga single bend it on a transverse: line through the aperture The. two ends of the sheet metal strip [5. are notched or bifurcated to provide the. points. or prongs. l-a best shown in Figs. 11,. 3 and 4-1 As initially applied... the head 20. of the screw engages the inner faces of the sheetmetalstrip H6 at either side. of the bend l:8= asibest shown in Fig. 1,. the shank. of the screw beingloose in hole H. as clearly illustrated in. that view.

The size of the. sheet metal anchor I6 is so chosen with. reference to the bore of the hole II] that the points or apices l9 will best fit within the bore. in the manner shown in Fig. 3.

When. the parts are now subjected to a. squeeze ing or driving pressure: axially of thedrive screw I5, they will. move. to the relative. positions. shown in;Fig. 2. The pressure of the rung 9 upon the bend IS in the sheet metal portion [6. of the anchorwill flatten such sheet. metal portion, forcing the points it into-the wood. The claws or points, will readily penetrate the wood, eventhe hardest wood, without splitting, and it: is not necessary to. sharpen themex-cept-as they. maybe leftisharp by the stamping operation. They will operate successiully where a chisel point would not.

Inaddition to the spreading of theclaws, the drive screw IE will be forced further into the rung 9 beyond the end of pilot bore [4 due to the pressure provided by encounter of the head 20 of the screw with the end of the bore H) in the work piece 8. The head 20 will now tightly fit into the aperture I! in the sheet metal portion l6 of the anchor, being permitted to move into such aperture by the spreading of the sides of thesheet metal portion with which the head was originally engaged, as shown in Fig. 1.

In repair work it may be found that the hole I istoo deep to permit of this operation exactly as described above. In any such case it is possible to insert one or more washers at 2| between the work piece 9 and the sheet metal device I60. The sheet metal portion of the anchor I60 corresponds to that shown at It in Figs. 1 to 4 except that instead of being provided with a single bend it may have spaced bends at I80 and IN between which it is provided with a flat portion at 22 to engage washer 2| with a firm seat. The drive screw preferably corresponds to that shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 except that in the Fig. 5 construction it may have a flat-shouldered head 200 instead of a tapered head shown at in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.

Should no glue be used or, should the glue become loosened, it might be possible to unscrew the joint made with the device specifically illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4. To preclude any such possibility I may provide an alternative sheet metal construction shown at I6I in Fig. 6. While it would operate equally well using the double bend form shown in Fig. 5, I prefer to use a sheet metal part having a. single bend at I0 as illustrated in Fig. 1 and Fig. 4. At each end of the bend IS the sheet metal part is provided with a prong 24 projecting oppositely to prongs I9, thereby being adapted to engage the work piece 9 while prongs I9 become embedded in the work piece 8. Thus relative turning movement between the work pieces is prevented and it is consequently impossible to turn the rung 9 in such a way as to unscrew it from the drive screw I5 used with any such device. While any type of screw or nail may be used, it will be understood that there are advantages in employing a driveable mounting device such as the drive screw I5,

and accordingly in practice the anchor device shown in Fig. 6 will ordinarily be understood to be provided with such a drive screw.

The advantages of the driveable mounting device, particularly in an anchorage strip with a single fold, are:

l. The head of the drive member will initially seat between the prongs to hold the anchorage device securely and correctly positioned during driving and will then move to a new seat.

2. A screw or the like fully seated in advance tends to be loosened by the bending of the anchorage device, whereas the movement of the a drive member to a new seat assures tightness.

3. A screw or the like driven in advance tends to split the rung whereas the present device does not penetrate deeply until the rung is supported in the socket.

4. The fact that the drive screw is set or driven home simultaneously with the expansion of the anchor, and by the same means, saves an extra operation.

The device shown in Fig. 7 is used to connect the tenon IIO of work piece 90 with the mortise I00 of work piece 80. The sheet metal member I62 is preferably identical with that shown in Fig. 5 except that its flat portion 220 is elongated and may be held by one or more drive screws or other fastening means to the tenon IIO. Despite the fact that the mortise I00 is rectangular in plan, its relation to the prongs I9 and the operation of the device upon assembly is identical with that above described.

We claim:

1. The combination with a drive screw, of a metal anchor device comprising a metallic strip centrally apertured, the drive screw extending through the aperture, said strip being folded upon a transverse line through the aperture and thereby provided with end portions diverging across the head of the screw in engagement with the screw head and holding such head free of seating engagement with the centrally apertured portion of said strip, the ends of said strip having terminal prongs.

2. A device for anchoring a furniture rung in a socketed member, said device comprising the combination with a drive screw headed for engagement with said member at the bottom of the socket in said member, of a sheet metal strap having a central aperture in which the screw is positioned, the length of the strap being greater than the diameter of the socket in which the anchor is receivable, said strap being bent upon a transverse line through the aperture sufficiently to bring its end portions within the diameter of the socket, said end portions divergin across the head of the screw and being provided with terminal prongs, the head of the screw being spaced from seating engagement in the aperture of the strap and engaged between the divergent end portions of the strap whereby said screw head is movable under pressure of said member at the bottom of the socket to a new seat in the aperture of said strap at the same time that said prongs are expanded into the sides of the socketed member by the flattening of said strap.

3. A device for anchoring a furniture rung in a socketed member said device comprising a sheet metal strip of bendable material having a central aperture and a transverse fold through said aperture, and end portions divergent at opposite sides of the aperture and having terminal notches providing margins divergent toward the opposite sides of the strip at its respective ends and terminating at such sides in sharp pointed prongs, and a headed fastener in said aperture adapted to secure said strip centrally to a furniture rung, the bending of said strip adapting the strip to be received into a socket of less transverse width than the length of the strip when flattened, whereby the pressure engagement of the furniture rung with the strip will not only engage the fastener with the rung but will flatten the strip and engageits pronged ends laterally in the associated member at the base of the socket.

4. The device of claim 3 in which the fastening deivice comprises a drive screw having a highpitched threaded shank portion loosely received in the aperture, and a head positioned between the divergent ends of the strip and engaged therewith to securely position the strip on the rung prior to insertion into said member.

JOHN M. GRINDE. 

